Cyclops and the X-Men
by Mutant 23
Summary: What if Cyclops brought back the X-Men instead of Wolverine? Will be a retelling of the 1st season with some new twists and new X-Men that will lead into a set of stories that will be the 2nd season.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Inspiration**

Scott's Point of View

It has been a year. A year since the incident has happened, the Institute explosion that decimated most of the building, mainly the part that was above ground. Still, to this day, there is no home for me, nowhere for me to go. I have thought about staying at the Institute, or what's left of it, but I can't stand to be around Logan. Not after what he did. I actually can't stay there simply because of the memories of all the students leaving, all the X-Men as well: Piotr Rasputin, Kurt Wagner, Kitty Pryde, Bobby Drake, Rogue, Ororo Monroe, Forge, and all the others. Watching each and every one of them leave killed me a little inside. With each car that drove away, another piece of my soul was lost, not that there was much left after Jean was lost. I've been on the road ever since the incident, trying to forget. The two people I can never forget though are Jean and the Professor.

The memory of Jean and the Professor stings my mind as if a hundred wasps were stinging my ass. The most painful part is Jean. I'll never forget the pain I felt when I saw that Jean was gone. At that moment I couldn't even stand, I immediately collapsed, my legs buckling underneath me. While everyone else was panicking over the Professor being gone, I couldn't help but focus on Jean's disappearance. I felt horrible about it and still do. After everything the Professor had done for me, I was only worrying about Jean when they first disappeared. In the end, I was worrying about the Professor just as much as Jean, but Hank was already looking for the Professor so I took on finding Jean. I swore that I wouldn't stop until I found her. Even though Logan said he would be looking for Jean too, I decided to look alone, refusing to socialize with that creature. Still, I look for her, only to see her smile again. Even though they all said I would never find her, I refuse to quit.

Now I drive down the highway, going to another small town, my motorcycle purring away. Recently, I've been thinking about going back into the field as an X-Man to fight back against the MRD, the Mutant Response Division. Put the team back together, and battle a new threat. I've seen so much destruction done by the battles between Mutants and the MRD that now the MRD is even arresting humans for harboring Mutants, or so I've heard. On a few occasions, I have had to face the MRD myself. They never back down from a Mutant no matter how powerful we are.

An explosion suddenly roars through the sky, erupting in my ears, and I work to retain my balance on my motorcycle as the shock wave passes. I come to a halt, and look off in the direction that the explosion came from, seeing smoke rise from the horizon. Soon, I begin to remember the good old days when I was a hero, saving people who only want for me to not exist. No matter how cruel those people would be, I was always the bigger person, and would prevent innocent lives from being lost.

_Guess it's time to get back in the action, _I silently decide. I don my costume for the first time since the incident, and drive off to face the problem at hand. My glasses are replaced by my visor, and it feels foreign but familiar on my eyes. My classic yellow and blue uniform is covered by a dark grey trenchcoat, a new addition to my uniform after the incident. As I drive up to the wreck, I see a couple being carried out from the debris. One is an African American man with a goatee, and the other is a Caucasian woman with long wavy red hair, reminding me of Jean.

"No, Erica, she's still in there!" the lady yells at the people around her. I take that as my mission, and dive straight in. I blast a wall apart to get in, and make sure to avoid the larger flames even though my suit is fire proof, but only to a certain limit. The heat is what really kills me in there though. No matter where I turn it only gets hotter, but I can't back down as long as a life is at stake. As I weave my way through, I start to hear a little girl calling for help. I blast through another wall, and see a little girl cowering in the corner with a stuffed animal. She has a dark shade of skin, but not as dark as her father's along with her mother's hair though a little darker.

"Are you… are you going to help me?"

"Yes, come on now. Let's get you out of here." I pick her up, and begin to carry her out of the field of fire. I use my own body to shield her from the flames, even though the flames are beginning to dig through my costume. All I can hear are the flames crackling and the girl's screams. I remember when I would be finding young Mutants to save, when we were first fathering up Mutants who were lost and confused like Shadowcat and Nightcrawler. Enough with the memories though, this girl needs to get to safety, and fast.

The girl is beginning to get a bad cough, and I can't tell if it's from screaming too much or the smoke.

"Close your mouth, and keep your hands over your mouth and nose. It'll help keep the smoke from getting into your lungs." I can't check if she is following what I'm saying, but I just have to hope she is listening. As I come around a corner, I see a leaking gas tank that is about to go up in flames. "Oh shit!" I run back just as the flames hit the gas tank. The explosion blows us away, and I use my body to shield the girl. As I get up, I see a clear way out. I rush through, and roll over onto my back to keep the girl from getting hurt by the impact.

I look into the sky as everything begins to fade to black. People are crowding around, and I feel someone take the girl from my arms. Before I go under, I crack a smile as my mission is accomplished.

* * *

I wake up in an RV, and I feel we're on the move. I feel shreds of clothing on, but know my costume is gone. I don't know where we're going, but I plan to find out. The little girl is standing over me, along with her mother, who is applying medicine to me, probably burn ointment. As I begin to get up, I feel a hand push me back down.

"Your wounds are pretty severe. Let us help. It's the least we can do."

"The MRD… they'll arrest you for helping me."

"Let us deal with the MRD. I'm Randy, by the way," the father says from the front of the RV.

"Now, let us help. I'm not letting you back out there with all these burns untreated." I give up, and just lay back down as she begins to apply some more burn ointment.

* * *

The next thing I know, I'm at their house, waking up in the guest room. I notice that someone has dressed me in regular street clothes, and switched out my visor with my classic red shades. The little girl is back, and I see a pair of big brown eyes looking at me. It is the same look I would get when a young student saw me walk into the room.

"Hey, little one," I say, trying to seem friendly.

"Hi, my parents are across the hall, in the kitchen, if you want to see them."

"What about my bag? Do you know where that is?"

"It's over there," she answers as she points over to a corner of the room. I get up, a surge of pain rushing through my sore, burned body, and pick up my bag. I hear her parents talking through the wall though, and decide to eavesdrop.

"Carl has got the whole neighborhood freaking out," the mother says in an angry tone.

"I guess we had to expect that." I decide to come out, and they seem glad to see me up and about.

"I should get going before the MRD shows up." The father seems to flare up in anger slightly at the mention of the MRD.

"They're already on their way. There's nothing you can do, now." The blades of a helicopter start to roar through the walls, and I know my time is up.

_This is going to get ugly._ I switch out my shade with my visor, and run outside to see a barricade of MRD agents. I blast one of the vehicles, and the agents instantly scatter in a panic. A few keep their composure though, and begin to open fire. I roll behind a car, and begin to blast away at the MRD. The last time I faced off against them, I had the help of a Mutant who was like a werewolf. She decimated the MRD, but sadly, I lost sight of her in the chaos of the battle. I don't know where she is now, but I hope she's safe.

As the MRD begin to reorganize, I decide to make a break for it. I'm hoping that the rumors aren't true, but I'll stay hiding in the trees until I see the MRD leave. As I look out, I see Randy talk to who looks like the commanding officer. The man points to a helicopter, and the MRD begin to push the family towards the helicopter. I take this as my moment to strike, and blow up one of the trucks with an optic blast. I drop back down to the ground, and disarm two agents with some moves I learned from my years of training at the institute. Before I can get a shot at the helicopter, one of the MRD agents fires a net at me. My optic blast shreds through the next, and I take out the agents along with two guys offering support. When I look back up, the helicopter is gone, and it's just me and the commanding officer.

"It's just you and me, now," the commander says.

"I guess so, Captain Obvious," I respond. I disarm the commander with a focused optic blast to his hand, and decide to face off against him hand to hand. The commander charges at me, and I quickly use a maneuver to knock him to the ground. As he gets back up, he throws a right hook which I block and counter with a right uppercut, which knocks him to the ground once more. His head slams against the concrete, and his eyes roll back into his head. Before leaving, I check all of the agents to make sure they're still breathing, which they do, and I get back on my motorcycle, riding off to wherever the road takes me.

_This small rescue mission is turning into something big, and it doesn't look pretty. I'm going to some real help if I'm going to set that family free. It'll take too long to gather up the X-Men. Although, there might be one or two still at the Institute with Logan. As much as I would hate to admit it, he might just be be the only chance I have at some back up._

With that, I drive off to what remains of the Xavier Institute. Being back here brings back a lot of memories I would prefer to have forgotten. All the time I spent with Jean, the explosion, saying goodbye to everyone. It all just opens up old wounds. The burns hurt too, but over my many years as an X-Man, I have learned to fight on despite the pain. Some would say my pain tolerance can match up with Logan's, but I know the truth.

As I walk through the ruins, I step onto a metal plate that feels like there is nothing underneath. I lift the plate to see a hole that was once an elevator shaft to the lower levels. I grab a rape from my pack along with a metal rod to keep hold of the rope. After testing how deep it is by dropping a rock into it, I slam the metal rod into the ground to where it is nice and firm in the ground. Then I tie the rope around the rod, and begin to climb down. Once I'm close to the bottom, I begin to hear what sounds like a science lab.

_That must be Hank, or maybe it's Forge._

It doesn't take long to reach the bottom, and I instantly begin a search for any stray X-Men. The only door I see open in the hallway though had a small light creeping out, and is also the source of the volley of sounds I've been hearing. I decide to take a look inside, and I see only Dr. Hank McCoy, better known as Beast, inside, in the middle of an experiment.

"Hank," I call out. He darts his head up, and a look of enlightenment is splattered onto his blue furry face.

"Scott! It's great to see you, again! How have you been?"

"I've been better; I still haven't found Jean. What are you up to?"

"I'm still looking into what happened with the explosion, trying to find the source. I've so far found there is no sign of explosives, electromagnetism, or any other suspicious materials."

"That rules out the MRD and Magneto. I doubt Erik would have done this though, he would never spill Mutant blood."

"That's true, Scott. Now, why are you here? Logan's out on another one of his trips looking for Jean if that's why. He'll be back in a few days."

"I'm actually glad he isn't here. Is there anyone else left?"

"No, it's just been Logan and I here. Everyone else has gone off to their own homes or on their own adventures. Why do you ask?"

"The MRD arrested a family for harboring me after I saved their daughter from a fire. I'm going to get them out, and I came to see if I could get some help." Concern begins to dawn on Hank, and I'm not sure whether to be glad or worried.

"So, it is true, they're arresting non-Mutants now. This isn't good, Scott."

"I know, Hank."

"They don't deserve to be in there, but I'm not sure if we would be able to get them out, just the two of us." I knew this was coming. Hank always was against violence.

"We can't let those people stay in there," I protest. "The MRD will torture them!"

"You're right, Scott," Hank agrees.

"So, you'll help me?"

"Yeah," Hank surrenders, "I'll help."

"Thanks, Hank," I gratefully respond.

"Well, it'll be just like old times. You, me, Warren, Bobby…" Hank pauses, and the pain fills up my eyes. When the Professor first opened the school, there were only five of us: Hank, Bobby, Warren, Jean, and I. Warren left after the team began to expand and the MRD was founded. He was given protection by his father, and uses his money to help out any Mutant group that has the same goals at the X-Men. Then the incident happened and everyone just split up. "I'm sorry," Hank begins, "I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine, Hank," I forgive as my eyes begins to water up, "I'll be fine."

"We'll find her, Scott, eventually, along with the Professor."

"Yeah, it'll just take time. Meanwhile, we have an innocent family to save."

"I'll go grab my uniform," Hank says, rising from his lab table.

"I'm going to need a new one. I lost mine in a fire," I respond as I follow him into the storage room filled with spare uniforms. "It felt like being an X-Man again when I put that uniform on. Felt like the good old days."

"If only…" is all Hank has to respond with as he leaves to get his uniform.

* * *

Hope the readers enjoy the first chapter. I'm a huge X-Men fan, and want to do Cyclops some justice after his bastardization in Wolverine and the X-Men and the X-Men movies. Love them both, but want to give Cyclops some time to shine. Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: A War Begins**

Scott's Point of View

I wait on the rooftops for a MRD truck to drive by with Hank by my side. To get into the MRD facility, we need a MRD holding truck, one that is designed to hold Mutants. With a MRD truck, we can get Hank in quietly while I'm disguised as a MRD agent. Before leaving, Hank used the remaining computers that still worked at the Institute to pull up the schematics of the facility, making us more prepared for the breakout.

"Look," Hank says, spotting a MRD truck about to drive by us. It's exactly what we're looking for, so we go on the offensive. In order to avoid alerting any other MRD agents, we need a speedy take down, so Hank volunteers to get the job done. His strength and acrobatics make it challenging to hear Hank, and fairly easy for him to take down two agents before they know what happened.

"You know the plan," I state, signaling Hank to execute the plan. He moves with great agility, going for rooftop to rooftop as he works his way closer to the truck. Before I know it, he has landed on the truck, making the truck rush to an immediate halt. Hank instantly makes his way inside, taking out the two agents before they can even reach for a weapon.

"They're down," Hank relays over our secure radio channel. I rendezvous at his position after he relays the all clear, and we set our plan into motion. While Hank is getting the shackles on to give the impression he is a captured prisoner, I'm taking a MRD uniform from one of the agents to put on.

This uniform smells like crap. The man obviously hasn't showered in at least a day, but his partner smells even worse. I have to put on my shades under the MRD helmet, and I'm hoping that it isn't too noticeable. Hank hops into the back while I prepare to get going. Before we leave, I throw the two agents in the back with Hank, forcing him to endure that horrible odor.

Now it is just a matter of being seen like an agent taking Hank in as a prisoner. To keep the agents from checking the back at the checkpoint, Hank is going to make a large commotion to scare the MRD enough to not check back there. After that, the plan depends on how the wind blows.

I drive up to the MRD prison facility, and I pull up to the checkpoint. A little before I pull up, I tap the panel connecting to the holding cell, signaling Hank to start the show. Before I know it, there's a banging, wave of snarls and growls, and all sorts of weird noises erupting from the back that one would expect to come from a crazed caged animal. Just as I pull up, I catch sight of one of the MRD agents, specifically the one at the checkpoint, beginning to show some fear.

_He must be new._ I roll down the window as the agent comes down to clear me.

"What do you have back there?"

"One big ugly beast," I say signaling to the back. "I should get him in a containment cell before he breaks out of there, and eats us for dinner."

"O-okay," the agent stutters, showing no effort in hiding the fear in his voice, "get going." I roll up the window, and get going. Step one is done, now to get to the security room. We plan to not only break the family out, but also all the others Mutants that have been trapped in this hellhole.

As I park the truck, I see two agents approach the back, and I know that our cover might be blown soon. I get out to see what's happening back there only to see two agents pointing their rifles at Hank.

_Damn it, Hank, what did you do?_

"Get on the ground, now!" one of them yells at Hank. My guess is that he didn't have the shackles on.

"Now look, I'm a pacifist by nature," Hank begins as I rip off my helmet, and take my glasses off, sending out an optic blast that knocks the two agents out. I look to Hank to see he doesn't have the shackles on.

"What, were the shackles chafing your fur?" I ask as I switch out my glasses with my visor. I rip off the uniform to show my X-Men uniform underneath, minus the trench coat.

"Only during my performance. I was going to put them back on, but then the two of them opened the back."

"Well, you've got to quit the pacifist stuff. I know you're not a big fan of violence, but these guys won't hesitate with sending a bullet into your head."

"I understand, Scott. I'll try my best. Now, what's the plan?" It takes me a second to come up with a plan, but I remember it's the same as any other mission. I have to just modify the plan so that it gets accustomed to the new variables.

"You'll go find the security office, and disable the defenses as well as the locks on the holding cells. I'm going to find the family and other prisoners."

"I don't find it best that we split up. These men are trained to fight Mutants. We should probably both head to the security office if we want to ensure our chances of survival." Hank makes sense, which he usually does, and I realize I'm used to having a team to work with instead of just a partner. When the team started, Hank was always the one who made constructive critiques to my plans. On some occasions it helped us complete the objective, so I make sure to never dismiss him.

"Okay, let's head to the security office." We leave instantly, not wasting a moment. As we go around each corner. I take point to shoot down anyone who might be on patrol. The hall surprisingly have very few agents patrolling, and I only have to take down a dozen men at the most, nd half the halls don't have anyone on patrol. Within fifteen minutes, we reach the security office where Hank goes in solo while I stand guard. I can still hear what happens inside, though.

"Hello gentlemen, now we could handle this peacefully or with violence." It doesn't take a genius to know that the next few sounds are the two agents reaching for their weapons. "Oh well, fine, it was your choice." I hear a few punches along with some grunts, and the door opens. Inside, the two agents lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious.

Hank just looks at me before saying, "I gave them a choice."

"Let's just get the cells open," I order as I look at one screen to see Randy being tortured by what looks like the warden of this prison. He has three slash marks across his face resembling Logan's claws. "Logan has been here." Hank looks at me before seeing what I'm looking at.

"That's Colonel Moss. He's one of the heads of the MRD. Logan told me he faced off against him a few times."

"Well we definitely know who the winner was. Are the cells open?"

"Yes, and I'll be heading over to them. I'll meet you at the hangar once you've got him," Hank says, pointing to Randy on the screen.

"I thought you didn't want to split up?"

"You already took down the patrols, and cameras show no other patrols."

"Got it," I respond before leaving, running as fast as I can to the interrogation room. Once there, Colonel Moss instantly turns, pointing a pistol right at me.

"Another one of you! Hasn't Wolverine already done enough?"

"I'm not here with him, I came for the family. Now hand them over!"

"I'd rather not, Mutant scum. Someone has to pay for that psycho ripping through here looking for some redhead Mutant." _Jean!_ I sent an optic blast right at him as I duck in case he fires. The blast hits Moss's torso, and he flies back against the wall. I pull Randy out of the machine, but go to interrogate Moss before leaving.

"Where's Jean?" I yell, taking hold of Moss's chest. "Where is she?"

"I don't know who the hell that is," Moss spouts before he spits in my face. I wipe his spit off before I throw him in the interrogation chair, and turn it on. While hearing him wail in pain, I grab Randy, still weak from the torture, and guide him out of the prison. While working my way to the hanger, I hear explosions echo through the halls. The Mutants aren't leaving without a fight, and I'm ready to help. I rush Randy to the hanger where I see the MRD in a shootout with the Mutants. There are MRD agents scattered all over the hanger, some with missing limbs, some scorched beyond recognition. There's a handful of Mutants in a similar condition, but it seems to only fuel the anger of the other Mutants. I crouch down as I crawl over there, which isn't easy with me carrying Randy, and I put him down next to his wife. It only takes me a second to join in the shootout when I notice a certain Mutant who sticks out, the one that helped me before, in my last encounter with the MRD.

I call out, "Wolfsbane!" but I notice an agent about to get the drop on her I blast him away, but then I hear the familiar sound of a helicopter erupt.

_Crap, do they have air support?_ I look over to see Hank flying a helicopter over to us. The Mutants begin to pile on, and I carry Randy on while wife carries Erica on. Right before we take off though, a sniper bullet comes out of nowhere, blowing Randy's head off. All I hear is his wife's screams as we fly away. I look down to see his blood splattered on me, and I can't help but break down. My mind goes straight to misery as I think of how this has ruined the family, all because they helped me.

"Someone, destroy those monsters!" I yell, not allowing for another innocent to die.

"Pyro," one girl calls as she makes three little balls of fire in her hands. As she drops them out of the helicopter, the blonde Mutant she called takes control of the flames. He makes them grow ten times bigger before sending each of them at the hanger, sending it up in flames.

"That settles that," Pyro remarks.

Hank comes in over the radio, "We've got two bogies coming in. Get ready for some action."

"Dust, girl, it's your turn," the girl calls out. It seems the blonde chick knows all of the Mutants, which can be an advantage. A girl in a black burqa that covers everything except her eyes comes up. Just as fast I see her, she's gone. She turns into a cloud of dust, and goes off after the jets pursuing us. One falls out of the sky before ten seconds pass, and the begins to try to fall back. Just like the others, we're not going to just let them go. I see the pilots eject, and order for them to not be killed. I feel like the slaughter should end for today.

It seems like the jets are the MRD's last attempt to stop us since the rest of our flight goes by in peace, other than Erica and her mom mourning Randy.

After Hank lands the helicopter at the Institute, I take the helicopter so I can get Erica and her mom somewhere safe. I feel like it's too dangerous to have them stay at the Institute with us. I fly them over to a forest where I see an abandoned log cabin the X-Men built a while back. The X-Men would sometimes go here on ski trips, but the last couple years with the X-Men were just mission and training to get ready for the MRD and Magneto's inevitable war.

As I land, I look over at Erica closely for the first time since she was taken by the MRD. She looks older, more mature than before. This day has made her older, more mature, and I feel bad for her as her life falls apart. In the back of the helicopter is Randy's body, covered by a tarp.

The first thing I do after I land is bury Randy, giving him a proper funeral. It isn't easy, digging a hole three feet deep before I decide to put his body in. I wish his head was still intact, so I could close his eyes as a sign of peaceful rest. While burying the body, I can sense Erica and her mom watching me. I don't give myself one break until Randy is completely buried though, owing at least that to this family.

Afterwards, I find a large enough rock to be a gravestone, and use my focused optic blast on a low power level to etch in Randy's name along with "beloved husband and father." The gravestone is pushed in deep and firm to make sure it doesn't get blown away or knocked over. With that, Randy is able to rest in peace.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I tell his wife as I come up to the cabin. She sits there in silence, crying over her lost loved one, and I can't help but think about Jean.

"Have you ever lost someone close?"

"I'm an orphan, lost them when I was around her age. Then, a year ago, I lost my wife."

"I'm sorry for your loss," she returns, and I give her a comforting hug.

"When you're ready to come home, just call me with this," I tell her as I hand her a communicator. "It's on a private channel to the Institute. Just turn it on, and I'll know to come get you."

"Thanks, for everything."

"You're welcome," I respond as I go over to the helicopter. Erica must be exhausted, she's fast asleep inside. "Tell Erica I said goodbye."

"I will." With that, I leave, heading back to the Institute.

* * *

As I come back to the Institute, I notice it is surprisingly quiet. I expected the Mutants we rescued to be raising hell, but instead all I can hear are the crickets chirping away. When I land, I immediately make my way to Hank's lab to see if he knows where the Mutants are or where they went. Hank is preparing for some experiments as well as starting up whatever computers were left in hibernation after the incident.

"Where did everyone go?" Hank looks up to verify that he indeed heard me. I guess sometimes, when he's in here for a long period, and his mind begins to play tricks on him.

"They all left, gone their separate ways. All but one," and, as if on cue, a Mutant walks in who I instantly recognize as Wolfsbane.

"Wolfsbane, you decided to stay."

"Yeah," she says, shyly, "if it's okay with you?"

"Of course," I gladly answer, "but do you have a name, other than Wolfsbane?"

"My name is Rahne Sinclair."

"Well," Hank begins, "it's nice to meet you Rahne."

"I can turn into a wolf or be like a werewolf. Thought you might want to know."

"Nice," I say, having a joke in mind, "now we have two furballs." Rahne chuckles a little, and Hank glares over at me, expecting that from Logan probably.

"So, who's in charge here?" Rahne asks.

"I am," I say, "and I have an idea of what to do next."

"What exactly would that be, Scott?"

"Hank, there is a war brewing. Mutants and MRD agents have died today, and I won't allow for anymore life to be lost. Some is going to have to bring peace, and I say it's the X-Men that brings that peace."

"I'll start tracking down the others, anyone in particular you're looking for?" Hank happily responds as he walks over to the computers.

"Anyone from the old team: Bobby, Kitty, Rogue, Warren, Kurt, Piotr, Ororo, and any of the others." I look over at Rahne, and realize she's still in her rags from the prison. "Rahne, let's go see if we have any clothes that fit you." Rahne and I leave for the armory, and I smile as some good finally begins to surface.

* * *

There's the first part of Hindsight done. I'd like to know what my readers think of this story, especially the changes I'm making.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Memories**

Warren's Point of View

Each day the burden grows a little harder to be the family secret. I sometimes wish I could just leave and join up with a Mutant group, go back to the X-Men. Those days were the best, but I can't go back. My family's money is the only thing keeping me around, and the X-Men are no longer around anyways. When the incident happened, the X-Men simply disappeared, and I was devastated to see a team I was a founding member of just be lost. The money is helpful though. I don't waste the money on myself though; I spend nearly all of my money helping Mutant groups. Any group that needs something repairs or a new building receives my help as long as they're for a peaceful cause, like what the Professor was working towards.

Today, I'm being forced to go out to a press conference hosted by Senator Kelly. This one has been called to address the threat the Brotherhood of Mutants has made against him the night before. They broke Toad out of prison for what I believe to be the seventh time this month, and now they're threatening to kill Senator Kelly. If it were up to me, I would come out as a Mutant right at this moment. Maybe if the son of a supporter of Senator Kelly was revealed to be a Mutant, the tide would turn in favor of the X-Men and other Mutants. Sadly, the truth is, that would never happen. The MRD would detain me instantly, and my father can't get me out of their grasp no matter how many strings they pull. Guess that's why he calls me the family secret.

My father has continuously told me that this press conference is going to have something extra, something that none of Senator Kelly's other conferences had. I'm not really eager to see what this secret is because I know the only purpose of this thing is to harm Mutants.

Now we've arrived, and I know today isn't going to go well. My father is the first one out, like always, eager to show his support for the annihilation of all Mutants even though his son is one. I just sit back in the lime, enjoying a nice drink while the crowd cheers in support of my father's views.

"Warren," my Dad calls, "get out here. It's time to go." I just adjust my seat to get more comfortable, and grab another drink.

"Warren," he says in a harsher tone, "you're embarrassing me, now get out here!" Fully aware that I either follow the rules or lose my money, I do what my Dad says while I still have the chance to help other Mutants.

"Dad," I begin, "it's bad enough we give him our money. We also have to come out here, and show him support."

"It's a good image for the company, now deal with it." We walk off towards the press conference to see Senator Kelly spewing his garbage about Mutants being a danger to society.

"The Brotherhood thinks that I'll be afraid, which I am, just like how all of you should be. These Mutants are a danger to our way of life, to future generations, even with the help of these fine men from the MRD. That is why I now present to you," he says as he walks over to something covered in a tarp, "the Prowler." Senator Kelly unveils what is hidden, and the crowd gasps in awe. It's a robot, sort of like a scorpion, I'm guessing has been designed to hunt down Mutants. If it sees me, I'm done for. The MRD agent standing next to the Prowler uses his gauntlet to turn it on, and so it begins. The Prowler springs to life, but before it can look towards me, it lunges into the crows. There must be another Mutant here, and it doesn't take long for me to spot her. The Mutant is Rogue.

Before anyone comes my way, I run off to the other side of the street, and dive into an alley. I quickly don my Angel uniform for the first time in years, and dive into action. That thing isn't going to stop until it catches Rogue and takes her down, and I can't let that happen to her. The first thing I do is get high enough to where nobody will notice me, but I can still see the ground. I feel the wind in my face, and remember how amazing it was to fly. I clear my mind of as the more pressing matters take importance. Once I'm in the air, I follow the explosions from the Prowler's weapons. That Prowler packs a wallop behind each blast, and the rate of fire is rather quick. This just makes the thing even more deadly in my eyes.

I have to move fast, but it doesn't take long to catch up. While Rogue and the Prowler are weaving through alleys, I fly over the rooftops to keep up more easily. Rogue gets cornered though, and she doesn't have much time until the Prowler gets her. Looking around the area, I see a construction site that is moving a mountain of boulders into a sinkhole as the foundation for a building. I quickly swoop down to grab a boulder, and fly over to Rogue and the Prowler. I know this won't destroy the Prowler, but it will keep it busy.

As the Prowler begins its final assault on Rogue, I slam the boulder on the Prowler, stunning the Prowler. That's when I see the cavalry on a nearby rooftop. Scott, Hank, and one Mutant I'm unfamiliar with join the battle, engaging the Prowler. Hank grabs Rogue, and moves her away from the battle, carrying her to safety. Scott, on the other hand, is on the offensive, as always, giving the Prowler all he's got. The other Mutant helps out, packing a pretty quick and feral strike similar to Logan, which doesn't surprise me considering she looks like a werewolf.

I'm amazed to see the X-Men back in action. The time that I was a member of the team holds some of my fondest memories, ones I'll never forget. I fly down to try to help some more, but Scott and the stranger have already disabled the Prowler. I've always been amazed by how easily Scott can find an enemy's weak points while simultaneously making a battle plan.

"Well, you're a sight for sore eyes!" I exclaim as I land.

"Warren!" Hank calls as he comes down from the rooftops with Rogue. "It's nice to see you!"

"You too, Hank. It's great knowing that the X-Men are back together!"

"They're not," Rogue snarls as she starts to walk off.

"Rogue," Scott calls, "come back to the X-Men, it's your home,"

"Nowhere is my home, Scott, don't you get that? Ever since what happened to Jean and the Professor, I can't go back. Not without Logan!"

"Please, Rogue," Hank begs. "We need you as much as any other X-Man."

"What about the wolf over there? I bet she's helping you out just fine!" The Mutant seems to be offended by being referred to as simply "wolf."

"Rogue," I intervene, "you should go with them; you can't run from the MRD forever."

"I lasted this long, haven't I? I'll be just fine."

"Okay," Hank responds, "but our offer still stands." With that, Rogue leaves. I look over, and decide it's my turn to ask some questions as to what's going on.

"So, what's going on with the X-Men?"

"We're bringing it back," Scott answers, "slowly but surely."

"Who's the new girl?"

"I'm Rahne. Scott and Hank broke me out from a MRD prison, and I decided to stick around."

"You know, Warren," Hank begins, joining in the conversation, "there is always a spot for you on the X-Men."

"Sorry, Hank, but I can't. The money I get from my Dad lets me help a lot of Mutant groups. I join any of them though, and I lose the money. You'll just have to make do without me in the field."

"We understand," Scott answers, "if you need any help, just give us a call."

* * *

Scott's Point of View

I walk into the War Room to see Hank going over various X-Men files, mostly the Mutant archives. I see three Mutants at the moment: Kitty, Bobby, and Piotr. Rahne is standing next to Hank, a bit of eagerness in her eyes.

"With how sloppy our last mission was, any of these Mutants would be a welcomed addition," Rahne says as I come in.

"Yes, they each were part of the X-Men before, actually, and Bobby was an original member of the team, like Scott and I."

"Then I say we go for Bobby first. What do you say, Scott?"

"First, I would like a report. What do you have, Hank?"

"Bobby is with his parents, but they refuse to let me talk to him. Kitty ran away from home after the neighborhood turned against her family. I talked to Piotr though, and he doesn't seem interested in leaving his family again."

"Well, I guess you'll get what you want, Rahne. We leave for Bobby's in five." Santo seems overjoyed for this mission; I'm guessing she's eager to meet another one of the original X-Men. "Get a trench coat, both of you. We're going for covert, and I your furry hides will draw attention fairly quick." Hank goes off to get some clothes, but Rahne simply draws in fur to resemble a normal girl. While I prepare the MRD helicopter for launch, my mind goes back to when the Professor and I first met Bobby.

* * *

_I was only sixteen when we came to Bobby. As the Professor's first student, he liked to take me when he was going to meet a family with a Mutant child. That was how I first met Jean. This job was a little more of a challenge though. Jean's parents wanted help so that Jean could learn to control her abilities. Warren's family was convinced that was a private school, and Hank was already living on his own. Bobby's parents refused to even address what he could do as if there was nothing wrong, and it took a lot of convincing to get his parents to enroll Bobby._

_The house looked like any other house in the middle of the woods. Nature was visible in every direction, and I could see two boys playing video games through one of the upstairs windows. When the Professor knocked on the door, it only opened a bit so that an eye could peek through._

"_Who is it?" the man timidly asked._

"_My name is Charles Xavier. You called about your son's "condition.""_

"_Leave! We have nothing to discuss!" The man tries to close the door, but a little boy interrupted him._

"_Dad, who is it?" the boy called. He sounded like he was around twelve years old, just entering puberty._

"_It's nothing, Bobby, please go back upstairs."_

"_Mr. Drake, we know that Bobby is a special boy. We just want to talk to you about a school for people like him."_

"_No! Nobody is taking my son!"_

"_Sir," I chimed in, "if you just try to forget about it, it'll only get worse. Take it from someone who went through that firsthand."_

"_Fine, you get ten minutes, and that's it!" The man opened the door, and we walked through. The house looked like a typical American home, nice and peaceful. "Bobby!" the father called. His wife was already in the living room, sitting on the couch, and the father sat with her. I sat in a chair right next to where the Professor sat down. Bobby took his placed between his parents, and it seemed like we were ready for discussion. "The clock is ticking."_

"_Bobby, do you know what you are?" the Professor asked._

"_Yeah, I'm a boy. Why do you ask? Is there something wrong with that?"_

"_No, not at all, but could you show me what your gift is? I'm eager to see what you can do."_

"_He won't be showing you anything!" the father interrupted. I was getting really irritated by how Bobby's father was treating the situation. He acted like this was a disease, a curse, and I couldn't take it. If it weren't for the self-restraint the Professor taught me, I probably would have blasted him through the walls._

"_Dad, I want to show them," Bobby revolted._

"_You won't, and that is final!"_

"_If you're too scared to let him show us his gifts," I began, fed up with these people, "then you must not even care about your son! You only want him to fit in with everyone else; be the same when you know that he is different!" The father seemed appalled from what I just said, but I refused to back down. This intolerance needed to end._

"_Fine," the father uttered, not allowing me anymore satisfaction than that._

"_Go on, Bobby," the Professor soothingly encouraged._

_Bobby nodded to the Professor, acknowledging him, and grabbed a cup of what I expected to be tea or coffee. His eyes closed tightly while he focused on bringing his gift forward. I looked closely, waiting to see if anything changes. Once his eyes opened, he put the cup down, but tipped it over first to reveal that the liquid had been turned completely to ice._

"_Amazing," I said._

"_That is a wonderful gift, Bobby. I'm sure with training; you could become very skilled with your gift." I noticed the father grow angered at the mention of training._

"_Excuse me," the father interrupted, a blood vessel bulging out of his fat forehead, "but training is completely out of the question! I won't allow you to turn my son into a monster!"_

"_How about you let your son decide!" I yelled._

"_Who are you to tell me what to do with my family? How did your family react to realizing whatever it is you can do?"_

"_I'll never know how they'd react," I responded bitterly, "they're dead." The father seemed shocked to see that I'm an orphan, but I refused to back down now._

"_I want to go, Dad," Bobby shyly said. From that moment, I liked Bobby. He was eager to use his gifts, and was proud of them. I had a lot of respect for him, and that respect grew with everyday we worked together._

"_No! You're staying!"_

"_Mr. Drake, please let us teach Bobby how to control his powers. If you don't have him learn to control it, who knows what will happen when he's a teenager. My student here, Scott, lost control of his abilities after he got a concussion. Now he has to wear those glasses for every moment of his life unless he wants to destroy a building or send someone through a wall." I commended the Professor for always knowing how to deliver the killing blow in an argument._

"_Fine, go ahead and take our son. At least we won't have to worry about the whole house turning to ice now." The father's sour grapes from saying goodbye to Bobby sickened me, and I couldn't wait to be rid of him._

"_Thank you," the Professor responded, "Bobby, go get your things together. Welcome to the X-Men. Scott, could you go help him pack to make sure he has everything?"I got up, and followed Bobby upstairs. From then on, Bobby and I were close friends. He would be a friend through all my time as an X-Man, no matter how annoying he could be._

* * *

That marked the beginning of a team. With him, the five of us were assembled, and ready for action. We became known as the school grew as the First Class, and, eventually, even the Professor started calling us that. We started a school, and now we're the ones that have to bring it back to life.

"Scott, you ready?" Rahne asks as she walks into the hanger, Hank right behind her. Hank finishes the preparation on the helicopter while I assess what we would have to do. Finally, I look over, finally sharing Rahne's enthusiasm for the mission.

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

There's another chapter. Hope you enjoy it. Please read and review.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Recruitment**

Rogue's Point of View

Just another day in hell, and I hate every second of it. Most Mutants perceive their powers as a gift, but mine are a curse. What good is it to have a power when the price is not being able to touch anyone without putting them in a coma? If only is all I can I say. All I do is run from the MRD, the bastards trying to persecute all of us Mutants, under the orders of Senator Kelly, who swears he is protecting the people.

Just recently I had a run in with one of the MRD's latest advancements in Mutant hunting technology, the Prowler. If Scott and the X-Men didn't show up when they did, I would've been done for. Their offer is tempting, but I just can't accept, not without Logan. Logan is the reason I always stayed with the X-Men, he made me feel like I belonged. Without him, I feel alone with the X-Men. For the last year I've been trying to find Logan after he went on his hunt for Jean. Some went looking for Jean, others looked for the Professor, but most just walked away.

As I walk down this alley, I see something in the shadows. Immediately, my training as an X-Man fights to kick in, but I keep the urge suppressed. I don't want to give away that I'm a Mutant in case this stranger decides to alert the MRD. I've been able to avoid them simply by staying in the shadows, and it's been working well so far. The stranger decides to step out of the shadows after I pass by, and I notice that the stranger is actually a Mutant. A green, slimy Mutant.

"Hey there, girly, you got anything nice?"

"I've got nothing that would interest you."

"Oh, I don't know, those would say otherwise," the slime-ball says as he points to my breasts.

"Get lost, pig!"

"Oh come on, I'm just trying to be nice." His tongue shoots out of his mouth, and it wraps around my wrist, trying to pull me towards him. I'm not about to let this pig assault or even rape me, so I let him take off my glove with that slimy tongue of his. I then make my move, taking grip of his tongue, and siphoning his powers away. His tongue feels disgusting, like a wet, slimy snake slithering around in my hand. The bastard's eyes shoot out as pains roars through his body before he collapses on the ground. Before I know it, my tongue begins to grow, and is pouring out of my mouth. Luckily, I have learned to quickly adapt to new abilities over the years, and my tongue is back where it belongs in seconds. My mouth tastes like slime though, and I proceed to walk away when more strangers begin to come out.

One's a giant, the fattest, most repulsive guy I've ever seen. Another sports a green jumpsuit decorated with a white lightning bolt streaming across it, and his silvery hair slicked back. The third is wearing a grayish set of armor, the part visible being his eyes and jaw.

"Now, now boys," a woman's voice calls out, "let's be civil here. We should all learn from Toad's mistakes." Toad seems like a fitting name for the slime-ball, but I don't divulge my attention from the situation at hand. The new girl has pale bluish skin, and a scar across her left eye. I can't help but notice the huge amount of cleavage she shows off, clearly trying to keep the attention of the boys on her.

"Don't bother, I'm not interested in talking," I grunt before attempting to walk off.

"How about we talk girl to girl, huh? The guys can give us some privacy." I contemplate her offer, mainly debating the possible outcomes of declining, and decide it'll be better if we just talk.

"Fine, I'll talk, just the two of us though, nobody else."

"Good, Pietro, secure the area. Blob, help out Toad, and Avalanche, guard Blob."

"I don't need a guard!"

"Yes, you do. You can't fight an MRD tank, and hold Toad." Blob just walks off, picking Toad up along the way. Avalanche follows, and Pietro is out before I can even blink.

"So, Rogue, how's life been since the incident?"

"How do you know about what happened at the Institute?"

"Please, every Mutant has heard about that. Professor X goes missing, presumed dead, and the X-Men disband. That broke a lot of Mutant's hearts, you know. Still, how's life been?"

"A living hell, but why do you care?"

"I care because you're one of us, a Mutant who is trying to only survive."

"It would be easier to survive if you and your gang would quit fighting this war with the MRD!"

"We didn't start this war, Rogue. We simply decided to defend ourselves. They stormed into our homes to arrest us, and we fought back in a way many other wouldn't, by fighting back. There is strength in numbers though, and we could use someone like you, an X-Man." I'll admit, her offer is convincing, and I'm sick and tired of running. It might not be the X-Men, but at least I'm not going to be reminded of Logan every time I turn around.

"Okay, I'm in," I accept with a smile.

* * *

Scott's Point of View

As we close in on Bobby's house, I start to drift off into my thoughts again. I haven't spoke to Bobby since we parted way after the incident, and I've only seen his parents once, which didn't go so well. I already what to expect though, and I don't expect this to be easy. I've warned Hank of what Bobby's parents are like, and we've decided that only the two of us will go up to Bobby's house. Meanwhile, Rahne will be staying on the chopper, keeping an eye on the radar. The X-Men are growing slowly, but I wish this was a little easier. I wonder if the Professor had as much trouble gathering up a team.

We arrive, and I think about how amazingly short a flight appears when one gets absorbed in their thoughts. It looks different though. The windows are boarded up, but the boards look rather new. Someone in there is scared, and I'm pretty sure I know who.

"Hank, you're with me. Rahne, I want you watching the radar. If anything comes up, alert us via com."

"Yes, sir," Rahne replies compliantly. Hank and I leave the chopper, and cautiously approach the house. Hank rings the doorbell, but nobody answers. We try the door only to see that it's locked, and I decide enough is enough and knock the door in. I walk in to see all the lights off, and with the automatic night vision that comes with my visor I see nothing but furniture.

"Hank, put on your night vision goggles." He complies, and we then work our way through the house. Each room on the first floor has nothing inside besides furniture so we continue on to the second floor. One room has light shining through the cracks of the door, and instead of knocking or trying to open the door though I just knock the door in like the front door, brash, but effective. I see a terrified family in the corner holding Bobby as if a band of muggers are holding guns to their heads. The father pulls out a shotgun, and Hank and I back up in response.

"Calm down, Mr. Drake," Hank begins.

"Shut the hell up," Mr. Drake yells, cutting Hank off. "You monsters are not taking my son again. I'll die before he is forced back into that hell."

"Maybe," Hank calmly responds, "you should ask your son what he wants? He is a legal adult."

"Say one more word, and I'll put a damn shell in you, furball!" I know that's the worst thing anyone could say to Hank, and he proves me right by charging at Mr. Drake, knocking him out before he can even comprehend what's happening. Once he is knocked out, Hank just looks at Bobby.

"Are you coming or not?" I ask. Bobby shoots up and leaves as Hank follows. I look back the rest of the family, a mother and Bobby's little brother. "Bobby's a Mutant, get over it!" With that, I walk out. Bobby looks like he just went through hell, and I don't blame him. "What was all that about, Bobby?"

"My parents panicked when Hank called, and they started boarding up the house, afraid someone would storm in and take me."

"The MRD is getting more lethal, actually. They killed a human just for helping me."

"Well, we were trying to break out a dozen Mutant along with him and his family," Hank adds in.

"Only five Mutants got out of there with us though, and now there's a little without a father thanks to the MRD," I grimly state. Bobby looks mortified by the fact, and I decide to move on to a new topic.

"Looks like the X-Men are coming back," Bobby eagerly declares. "Who else do we have?"

"Warren is financing us along with some other Mutant groups, and we have a new member with us," Hank answers. "Other than that, we're it."

"Warren isn't an official member?"

"No," I answer, "Warren is more helpful off the team, his family's money will help more Mutants than he could in the field."

"Okay, and what about this new member?"

"You'll meet her in a moment," Hank says. When we reach the chopper, Bobby is the first one on. He sees Rahne waiting for us, and stops in his tracks, wanting to seem polite.

"Hey, I'm Rahne."

"Hey, name's Bobby, but you can call me Iceman in the field."

"Okay, code-name 's Wolfsbane."

"Cool, what'd you got in your arsenal?" Rahne offers Bobby a little show by turning into her werewolf like form, and snarling a little for show. Bobby chuckles a little from the semantics, but is still impressed. "Nice, but not as good as this," Bobby gloats as he turns his entire body into ice, shocking Rahne.

"Dang," Rahne utters.

"Sorry to interrupt Bobby," I interject, "but would you happen to know where Kitty is?"

"Oh, she's on her way to Genosha. Didn't she tell you?"

"Hank!" I call, and he instantly takes off, searching through records for which ships are inbound for Genosha. I only hope that we find Kitty in time.

* * *

Rogue's Point of View

We arrive at Senator's Kelly's mansion in the dead of night. I always wanted to give Kelly a piece of my mind, and here I stand a little over a hundred yards away. Domino is watching the mansion with her sniper rifle at the ready while Pietro scouts out the area. He comes back holding a box of noodles, looks like take-out maybe, and a pair of chopsticks.

"Building's empty, nice kitchen though."

"Good, Avalanche, give them our calling card." Avalanche begins to focus on the ground around the building, and it shakes violently. I think about trying to stop them, but something inside me is keeping me where I am. The mansion falls, and the Brotherhood cheers in triumph.

"What now?" I ask.

"Now, we hit the Worthingtons," Pietro answers.

_Warren!_

"Hey, guys," Toad calls out, "check out what we found." Toad and Blob are standing next to a green jeep, and Blob rips the top off so he can fit.

"Nice ride, let's move," Pietro says as he speeds into shotgun. "Rogue, you drive." I know that I have no say here, being the new member, so I do as he says. I wait for everyone to get packed into the jeep before I drive off, and I make my way to Worthington Manor. I always hated Warren. I used to think he was a true angel, but he's absorbed by greed. He left the X-Men so he could chill in his daddy's big fancy home with mountains of money, what a selfish prick! These guys are after his father I bet, but I just want a chance to take down Warren.

As we drive up to the monster of a building that is Worthington Manor I see that some of the lights are on. _Good, I hope Warren is there._

"Okay," Domino begins, "here's the plan. Pietro and I will take down the guards, and when we give the all clear Avalanche will tear down whichever wall Pietro tells you to. Pietro, you'll only tell him to tear down the wall that Warren Worthington, Jr is in, don't bother with his boy."

"I want to take his son out," I demand.

"Rogue, this isn't part of the job, we need you to take the information we need from Warren Jr."

"I'll take the information; then take down Warren the Third. I have a matter to settle."

"Come on, Domino," Pietro interrupts, "let the girl have some fun."

"Fine, but make it quick. We have to be able to get out before the MRD gets here. Now, let's move!"

Pietro speeds off while Domino starts picking off the MRD snipers on the roof with her sniper rifle. Pietro races through the mansion, snapping the necks of every MRD officer in his path. The alarm is triggered the moment he barges in, but this is something the Brotherhood expected.

"Move!" Domino yells at the Brotherhood. They charge on Worthington Manor, and when Avalanche gets close enough he begins to tear down one of the walls. Behind is Warren Jr. being held down by Pietro, and I look around instantly to find Warren the Third.

"Where is he?" I yell.

"Rogue, settle your vendetta after you get the info!" I walk up to Warren Jr., and I remove my glove. He must already know what I'm capable of since he begins fighting to keep himself away from me. It doesn't matter though for I have taken everything he knows by simply thrusting my hand forward.

"I have it, now let's find Warren." Pietro drops the old man, and he collapses on the ground unconscious.

"Shouldn't we just kill him?" Avalanche asks.

"No," Domino answers, "we take him out, and a million investors will start helping out the MRD. It's better we just have him fund them."

I'm already in the halls, and Pietro speeds ahead to find Warren. He comes back with a tall blonde man sporting a trench coat in his grasp.

"Here you go, Rogue." Pietro drops Warren on the ground, and I look at the rich kid.

"Rogue, what are you doing?" I stare at Warren, anger welling up inside me.

"I'm giving you what you deserve for your sins against Mutant kind and the rest of society, Richie Rich." I throw a punch, but Warren flares out his wings and flies up. He blows a gust of wind down, creating a short lives tornado, but when we recover, Warren is done. "No!"

"We'll get him next time," Domino assures me, "but we need to get out of here." We abandon the mansion just as MRD choppers close in on Worthington Manor. As we drive away, I watch the skies, looking for any trace of Warren.

"Next time, Warren. I'll get you next time."

* * *

Scott's Point of View

As we close in on another ship in the vast expanse of water between the coast and Genosha, I scan for a communicator incase Kitty is still carrying hers. Luckily, I find one, and ID shows that it's Kitty's. I'm overjoyed to have finally found her, and I go to the hanger. We can't land on the ship, so we plan to open the hangar so Kitty can see that it's us. From there, she knows what to do.

"Hank, you know what to do."

"Yes, sir," Hank answers. Rahne and Bobby strap in, and Bobby continues boasting about our many adventures over the years. Those adventures were from the easy days, back when the idea of losing an X-Man was inconceivable. Now we're in a war, and we need an army. Kitty is standing on the bow of the ship, overlooking the vast ocean ahead. The look she wears is all too recognizable. She still misses her days with the X-Men.

As Hank brings the chopper down, the hangar opens to reveal me in uniform. The moment Kitty sees me, her look changes completely. She jumps through the hangar door, onto the ship, before it finishes opening. As soon as I confirm she is on board, we fly off.

"About you guys picked me up," Kitty exclaims.

"Nice to see you too," Bobby says as he raises from his seat.

"Bobby!" Kitty squeals as she gives Bobby a hug. She gives me a hug next, and then hugs Hank from behind. "I missed you guys."

"We've all missed each other," I say. "Also, this Rahne, she's new." Rahne nods to Kitty, and gives a small show of her gifts.

Suddenly, the radio begins to receive an incoming message. "Angel to Cyclops, come in Cyclops." I come up to the radio, and pick up the microphone.

"Go for Cyclops."

"The Brotherhood just attacked Worthington Manor. They were looking for information. Rogue was helping them. They also left Senator Kelly's house as a pile of rubble."

"Where are you?"

"The Institute. I couldn't find anyone so I tried the radio."

"We've got Bobby and Kitty; we'll be making our way back to the Institute. Cyclops out." I put down the microphone, and get in the co-pilot's seat. "Everyone strap in, we're heading for the Institute."

"What about Piotr?" Hank asks.

"He'll have to wait, Hank." As Hank begins closing in on the Institute, I can't help but wonder what the Professor would have done.

* * *

Sorry this one took a while. I've been busy this week. Hope you enjoy it and give a review.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The Spark**

Scott's Point of View

I bolt straight into the War Room as soon as the chopper lands. Hank goes with Bobby and Kitty to the armory to get them new uniforms, but I'm focused on the problem at hand. Warren is waiting for me inside, and I don't waste a second.

"Give me the details," I order.

"Rogue and the Brotherhood destroyed Senator Kelly's Mansion. Afterwards they attacked Worthington Manor, nobody made it out alive except for my father and I. My father is sitting in a hospital recovering from Rogue's touch though, so I came here to let you know what happened." This is bad, this means that the only reason they attacked was to get information from Warren's dad.

"How did you get out?"

"I escaped; Rogue looks like she was ready to kill me though!"

"She probably would've; it wasn't exactly a secret how much she hated you."

"True, true. Should we wait for the others to come in, or would you like to start planning now."

"I want the First Class here." I pull out my communicator to send out a call. "Hank, Bobby, I want both of you in the War Room. Rahne and Kitty, you two will wait in the Hanger." Right when I hang up, I realize that the First Class consists of every man on the team, leaving all the girls in the hanger. I'm going to need to fix this, but after the problem is solved. A few minutes later, Hank and Bobby come in with full uniforms on, and with the First Class present, the planning begins.

"Warren," Hank begins, "exactly who is in the Brotherhood?"

"At the Mansion, I was attacked by Pietro, Rogue, Domino, Blob, Toad, and Avalanche. We've got six Mutants to handle. How many X-Men have you gathered up?"

"There's the three of us," I answer, "and we have Kitty and Rahne waiting in the hanger. That's five to six."

"Toad should be easy to handle," Bobby intervenes. "That leaves only five real threats."

"What about MRD?" Hank asks. "Won't they be there?"

"Yes," Warren answers, "but I have some information that could prove helpful. The schematics for MRD equipment; I think Hank could use these to find some weaknesses in them. This includes the new Prowler schematics."

"This will be useful with time," Hank gratefully thanks. "When does the Senator's conference begin?"

"We only have an hour, I'm sorry, Hank."

"We'll make due," I confidently respond, "the X-Men always have." With that, we leave, and only a few minutes pass before the chopper is back in the air.

On the way to the Worthington factory, I begin to think about what technology we have at our disposal.

"Hank, once this is over, I want you to find Forge. We need him to start fixing up all our tech."

"Of course, Scott, I'll get right on it. What about Piotr?"

"I'll get Piotr." I call out to the back, "Kitty, I want you to go with me when I go get Piotr!"

"Yes, sir," Kitty responds, acting like she's an actual soldier. With that settled, I watch the city as we prepare to face off against the Brotherhood and the MRD in what will be only the second mission the new X-Men have gone against.

As we close in on the facility, I spot Domino and Rogue at a billboard a few hundred yards away from the Worthington factory.

"Bobby, Kitty, you two will be going down near the billboard. You two will be going up against Rogue and Domino from what I can see."

"But," Kitty asks, "isn't Rogue one of us?"

"No, Rogue's joined the Brotherhood, and tried to kill Warren!" Kitty looks away, grabs Bobby, and phases through the chopper, falling down to face the two villainous Mutants. "Good luck."

* * *

Bobby's Point of View

I forgot what it was like for Kitty to phase me through objects. This is what I get for not trying to bring the X-Men back sooner. I guess I just didn't want to leave my family again, but after what they did, I couldn't stay. Now I'm going up against Rogue on my first mission back. A lot has changed in the last year; I wonder if I'll be able to keep up.

_Enough self-pondering!_ I have a mission at hand, and we're about to land. Domino has already seen us, but it looks like Rogue has informed her that her shots will go straight through us. When the time is right, I let go of Kitty, and begin to make an ice slide while shooting small spikes of ice at the duo on the billboard. Rogue ducks for cover while Domino shoots down each of the spikes coming in her direction.

Kitty lands, and she kicks Rogue down. If there's one thing I've learned on the team, it's that Kitty can't stand anyone who betrays the team. Reminds me of what she did to Thunderbird when he betrayed us to the government.

Looks like Domino is all up to me though, but I'm ready for a fight. When I look into Domino's eyes, I see a familiar pain like what I would see in Rogue's eyes. Maybe that's why Rogue joined the Brotherhood, she felt more connected to them than the X-Men.

Domino has a rifle in her hands with two pistols holstered on the sides of her legs. She has enough magazines for three clips for each gun. To try to wipe out her ammunition will be a challenge, but I doubt I'll even have a chance to. I fire as many spikes as I can, and then bring up an ice shield. As Domino takes out each of the spikes, Kitty slides over and phases me through the ground. Once through completely, I make a slide down to the bottom, but Kitty is still on the billboard though kicking the crap out of Rogue. I raise myself up to the top of the billboard behind Domino, and see her looking for where I'm hiding. I slam my elbow into the back of her head, and she falls to the ground. Kitty isn't done with Rogue though. The two are in a cat fight, and I'm afraid to get involved.

When Kitty pushes Rogue away from her with a quick kick, I take my opportunity and freeze Rogue where she stands. With Rogue down, we begin to head to the Worthington facility to help out when we see an explosion erupts from inside. Kitty screams, and I stand where I am, shocked. I realize that we haven't secured Domino, and I turn around to see that both of them are gone. Only melting ice remains behind me.

* * *

Scott's Point of View

Now that Rogue and Domino have been taken care of, we have four other Mutants to worry about. They're most likely inside, so Hank lands the helicopter on the roof. The three of us rush out, and sneak into the building. We wait on the railings for the Brotherhood to show up, listening to Senator Kelly's speech. I spot Warren, and he turns on his communicator.

"My father hasn't warned the Senator or the MRD. All we have is standard security, but there is the Senator's personal MRD escort. While it may be helpful for us, it could prove to be a problem when trying to protect Senator Kelly."

"Understood, Warren, thanks for the update."

He simply responds in a loyal tone, "Anything for the X-Men."

I look around, and notice one angry looking man in the crowd. He doesn't have a disguise on, and I recognize him as Avalanche. I send an optic blast his way, and leap down from the railing with Hank and Rahne following me. Pietro speed inside, and bolts straight for the Senator. Hank is one step ahead of me though, and he grabs the Senator, hoisting him to the railings. Blob and Toad come in, and they immediately back up Avalanche.

"You better back off X-Men!" Avalanche yells as he gets up. Toad laughs at Rahne's werewolf form, and she simply slams Toad into a wall with her enhanced strength.

"That takes care of the green one," Rahne snarls. Pietro is going up against Hank while I'm fighting Avalanche and Blob with Rahne. This fight isn't going in our favor though, and I need something to level the playing field. Senator Kelly's MRD escort rushes in, each brandishing a shining rifle. Not a single one of us is left without a rifle pointing our way, and I see just how dangerous this is getting. I notice the MRD is using lethal force in the field, not just during a prison break.

"Rahne, we don't kill, only subdue." Rahne leaps at the MRD agents, clawing at each agent without going for any lethal blows. Most of the agents she hits collapse to the ground for the impact of her claws mixed with the cuts the claws inflict on the agents. When Blob tries to bear hug Rahne, I blast him back. While it doesn't move Blob much, it buys Rahne enough time to turn around and cut up Blob without killing him.

"Hey, X-Man," Avalanche calls to me, "how about we have a nice and fair one on one."

"Now, now, Avalanche, you've never been known to play fair."

"That's true," Avalanche remarks as he begins to start an earthquake, but I send another optic blast at him. The earthquake throws me off balance though, and I miss. I'm on the ground, and have no way of focusing my optic blast on Avalanche. It's up to Rahne now. "I've been waiting for the day I get to take you down! The several times you've stopped the Brotherhood have given me enough reason to kill you! You'll finally get to see that stupid little redhead of your's again."

Avalanche just took it too far, and I bring myself to my feet on the unstable ground. I walk up to Avalanche slowly, but effectively.

"You will never mention her again, now burn, you son of a bitch!" I send the strongest optic blast I can at Avalanche, putting every bit of rage in me behind it. Once I'm done, I look to see Avalanche lying on the ground with his armor torn apart by the sheer impact of the optic blast.

Rhane walks up to me, obviously tired, and I can already tell that Blob has been taken care of.

"Good job, kid, you took down the Blob and Toad on your first mission."

"Blob was the real challenge. Toad is pathetic."

"Everyone says that." Behind Rahne, I see a bomb that has been placed on the Senator's podium. There's enough C4 to blow this place to smithereens. I bolt for the exit while I scream, "Rahne, bomb!" Rahne follows me, but passes me up with her enhanced speed, carrying Toad. I grab Avalanche, and notice Blob unconscious outside the building through a Blob-size hole in wall. Once we're out of the building, I realize Hank is still inside.

"Beast, get out of the factory," I yell over my communicator, "there's a bomb! Wolfsbane and I are already clear."

Suddenly, the bomb explodes, destroying the facility, and knocking Rahne and I back. I look up to see the burning wreckage in an explosion nothing could have survived.

"Hank!"

* * *

Hank's Point of View

Of course I'm the one who ends up going in alone. I would have been able to handle it, but I'm going against Pietro, the Mutant we have always had a hard time taking down. The only X-Men to have defeated Pietro one on one are Bobby and Logan. Neither one of them is here though, so I guess I'll become the third. Pietro has an ego, so I guess I can try to use that to my advantage.

"Let go of me you ferocious monster!" Senator Kelly yells at me, reminding me of the battle at hand.

"Sorry, Senator, but my mission is to keep you alive." The Senator tries to free himself, but it doesn't take him long to realize he can't even match my strength. "The Brotherhood is trying to kill you, and the X-Men won't allow for even your life to be lost."

"I said let go of me you beast before I have you locked up!"

"That's not an option at the moment, Senator. Not when we're against the fastest Mutant I know." Suddenly, Pietro speeds right in front of me, wearing a look of pride.

"You remembered me, how sweet! Now how about you hand over the Senator, and I'll let you go?"

"Sorry, Pietro, but I can't let an innocent life be lost!"

"This man is the reason why Mutants can't walk the streets without being attacked. Don't you wish you could walk to store, and not be hated because you have blue fur?"

"Our problems are not caused by this man, alone. The whole world needs to change if we wish to walk free, and the death of this man will only tip the war farther in their favor." Pietro's look of pride morphed into one of anger.

"You've made your choice; don't say I didn't offer you mercy." Pietro speeds towards me, but an earthquake shakes the ground enough for him to lose his balance. This gives me enough time to kick Pietro back, and start to make my way to the roof.

"Where did that earthquake come from?" Senator Kelly asks in the chaos.

"You obviously don't know your enemies that well." Once at the roof, I make my way to the helicopter, but am stopped by Pietro.

"Now, now, I doubt you'll get lucky twice." I get ready for anything Pietro has to throw at me, but instead of attacked me, he just pulls out a trigger. "See this? I placed a bomb in the building after you failed my attempt to grab the Senator. Now, you can either give me the Senator, or you can say goodbye to your team."

"You have three of your own in their!"

"It doesn't matter to me. They can be replaced, now give me the Senator!" I look behind Pietro to see Warren flying towards me, and subtly knock Senator Kelly unconscious.

I hear over my communicator, "Hank, get out of the factory, there's a bomb! Rahne and I are already clear."

"Sorry, Pietro, but I'm afraid you'll have to throw out a better hand than that." I grab Warren just as he flies over me, and Pietro stands where he is in anger. He pulls the trigger, and there goes the factory as Pietro speeds away. I watch as the helicopter erupts into flame, and I wonder how we're going to get back to the Institute.

"We're going to need a ride back home," I tell Warren.

"Sure, but only this once," Warren jokes.

* * *

Scott's Point of View

Rahne and I begin to make our way out, but we don't know what to do next. The helicopter is gone, Hank could be dead, and Bobby and Kitty haven't contacted us since they engaged the Brotherhood. I decide to make my way over to the billboard incase Bobby and Kitty are still there. I'm also keeping an eye on the sky to see if an ice slide will pop out from behind a building. A limo pulls up in front of us though, and the window rolls down to reveal Warren.

"Let's go, I've got Hank in the back!"

"What about Bobby and Kitty?"

"Haven't gotten to them yet. Can you lead me to them?"

"I can track them," Rahne says.

"Rahne, get in the front. I'll get in the back!" Rahne and I get into the limo, and we speed away to find the rest of the team.

Rahne directs Warren to the billboard, but none of us see anyone. Rahne says that the Bobby's scent leads up to the top, and Warren flies up to check.

* * *

Warren's Point of View

Even when I'm not on a team, it feels like I am. I've done so much to help out the X-Men in the last few days that I might as well join them. This has been a chaotic way of starting the team off though. Before getting into the limo, we drop off Senator Kelly at one of the MRD trucks parked outside the burning warehouse wreckage. At the top of the billboard, I see Kitty and Bobby huddled together, and Kitty is crying.

"Hey, are you guys okay?"

"No," Kitty immediately yells, "we just saw our entire team get killed on our first mission back!"

"Kitty, they're alive! They all got out before the explosion! I have them all in my limo under the billboard. Now, let's go." Bobby gets up, and he helps Kitty up as well. As they come down, Kitty says one list thing as she passes by me.

"Don't call me Kitty anymore. My name is Shroud."

* * *

Scott's Point of View

As Bobby and Kitty get inside the limo, I can't help but yell at the two of them.

"Why aren't your communicators on?" Bobby seems okay, but Kitty looks like she was just shattered and put back together with tape.

"Our communicators wouldn't work," Bobby calmly says. "I think Domino dropped some sort of EMP before she got away."

"Domino and Rogue got away!" I yell.

"Yes, after the explosion, we lost focus on the mission, sorry."

"You're sorry?" Kitty interrupts. "I'm not, we did perfectly fine."

"Whatever," I state, ending the argument. "Warren, can you get us back to the Institute?"

"Sure, and I think I found a way to help you out. I could help rebuild the Institute with my Dad's money."

"That would be great! When can we get started?"

"Tonight, and we can be gone within a week." This news helps build my spirit back up after that disaster of a mission, and hopefully everyone else's. While today may not have gone how we would've hope, we did as much as we could. A war has started though, and I know that it will only get worse from here on out.

* * *

Sorry this one took so long. I've been pretty busy but will try to get one of these out at least once a month.


End file.
